The present invention is directed to bicycle shift control devices and, more particularly, to a bicycle shift control device having spaced apart operating units such as shift levers, rotatable hand grips, etc.
Many types of bicycle shift control devices are used to control the operation of bicycle transmissions. One type of conventional bicycle shift control device includes a shift lever that is integrally formed with a winding drum. A control cable is connected to the winding drum is such that rotation of the shift lever in one direction causes the control cable to wind around the winding drum, thus pulling the control cable, and rotation of the shift lever in the opposite direction causes the control cable to unwind from the winding drum, thus releasing the control cable. The control cable is connected to a bicycle transmission, usually in the form of an internally mounted hub transmission or a derailleur, such that pulling the control cable causes the transmission to either upshift or downshift, and releasing the control cable causes the transmission to perform the opposite operation.
Another type of conventional bicycle shift control device includes a rotatable handgrip coaxially mounted around the handlebar axis. The handgrip is coupled to a control cable such that rotating the handgrip in one direction causes the bicycle transmission to either upshift or downshift, and rotating the handgrip in the opposite direction causes the bicycle transmission to perform the opposite operation.
Still another type of conventional bicycle shift control device includes separate levers mounted to a single shift lever housing. The levers are usually coupled to a ratchet mechanism such that rotating one lever causes the bicycle transmission to either upshift or downshift, and rotating the other lever causes the bicycle transmission to perform the opposite operation. The two levers are located in close proximity to each other so both levers can be rotated without moving the hand from the handlebar.
Since conventional shifting devices are constructed either from a single operating device or two operating devices located in close proximity to each other, both upshifting and downshifting are performed by the same hand, and the hand is usually located in substantially the same position for both operations. This may not be desirable for some riders.